The Austin (TX) City Council on Thursday approved spending up to $317,500 to test Broadband over Power Lines. The council approved GTSI Corp. to design, build, and operate a system to provide broadband Internet service over the city's power grid. GTSI will use PowerGrid Communications to build the network. "I don't like to jump on a new technology just because everyone else is jumping on it,"said Peter Collins, the city's chief information officer. "This is an education pilot program for us." Collins added that the city is highly unlikely to compete with cable and DSL service. The Texas city's CIO envisions the network being used by city departments for functions such as remote metering of water and electricity use and to detect problems on power lines and other equipment. The trial period is expected to begin, after build-out, later next year.